TDNKCI: Episode 11: "Might've Needed The Handicap"
The Jury's Recap
"Last time...On Total Drama Nui Kaua, The Cursed Island…" Kyle began as he looked over to Kaden, who had joined him and Antonio on a jury bench.
"Oh man, where to start?" Kaden wondered. "Well, while everyone talked strategy about the game following the first merge challenge, I finally managed to hook up with Azami."
"Turned out to be your downfall though." Antonio pointed out.
"Yeah, her not willing to give me immunity when i'd go so far as to give up a tiki for her is kind of, oof it hits me where it hurts." Kaden put his hand over his heart. "But I want to make something clear to both of you, and.." He pointed at the audience. "To the rest of you guys."
"Oh?" Kyle and Antonio both gave him their attention.
"Azami, like everyone else on this show, is a product of their upbringing. She isn't...I know it sounds weird coming from me after I just admitted she might not have my winning vote, but she isn't a bad person. Competitive yes, but that's, that's something I should have tried to help her through, not encouraged. Because I fanned that streak, that's what got me to where I am now."
"Despite, of all people, Freya attempting to save you." Kyle pointed out.
"Looks like Daniel was just a single step ahead." Antonio nodded.
"And now Azami's all alone on Weliweli…" Kaden sighed.
"Sounds like you still aren't over her." Kyle noted.
"I'm not!" Kaden readily admitted. "I'm still super, super kicking myself. For everything I did and said. I just hope she can learn where she went wrong too, and earn my vote back."
"It is possible." Antonio nodded. "But even if she can make it, the mountain can't hold everyone. One very unlucky player is about to find their boulder rolling back down the hill, and straight into the Coffin of Shame."
"Yes, but who?" Kyle asked aloud.
"Find out right here…" Kaden began, waiting for the others as they joined in to finish off the recap.
"On Total Drama Nui Kaua! The Cursed! Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Azami
Azami calmly reinforced the shelter with a new coat of branches before she wandered around the dead woods of the island.
"Dead...dead...dead…" She walked past decaying tree and shrub after decaying tree and shrub.
"There we go." She spotted a small bit of foliage. "Bait."
Confessional: Azami
"I hate Weliweli, it gives me the willie willies! Hahaha...ahhh…" She frowns. "Now not even a single person is going to pretend to find that funny."
Postpone Confessional
As Azami fishes at the shore of the island, she notices some fire ants have decided to trek over her shoes that she had taken off to dip her feet in the water.
A remarkably loud thunder echoes throughout the area and the rain picks up, starting to wash some ants out of line.
"Ah-ah-ah…" Azami fearlessly helped shelter them and lead them back to their marching order.
"Your queen needs you guys, so I don't want to see any of you giving up."
Resume Confessional
"I can't give up either. It's...I know...I know the situation I'm in. I know these things...but, look, I trusted someone else's plan to save Kaden and he still went home. Even worse he blames me for it all but...who would give up immunity? No one was going to come to my aid like that if I had lost. N-not that I would've...Heh...No...this isn't the time for jokes."
Postpone Confessional
Azami pulls up some fish as the storm stops for a moment, a few small rays of sunlight shine through onto the island as she brings her meal back to the campfire to cook and eat.
Resume Confessional
"Meals after victory are supposed to taste great, but these ones barely fill the pit in your stomach. When I come here again after the next challenge, and I will, I'm going to make sure I can enjoy the taste of the fish I catch."
End Confessional
Azami chomped at the cooked fish, not particularly enjoying the food as she ate it, but it beat any stray fruits or veggies she might have found otherwise. She looked out over at the main island and sighed as she noticed it was still raining quite heavily over there. "Can't they all come here for a change? Follow the light! Hehe…" She chuckled softly to herself before biting into her fish again.
Location: Muliwai River
Contestant(s): Aleister, Daniel, Sherwood, Twilight
"Come on, won't either of the two of you consider it?" Aleister pleaded to Sherwood and Twilight while Daniel eavesdropped despite his utter lack of interest, because he had chosen to sit just a tad too close to the others as they all went fishing for food.
"A returner alliance isn't my cup of tea." Sherwood shuddered. "I want nothing to do with Banshees ever again unless I'm eliminating them."
"I agree completely." Twilight nodded along. "I've been giving Samuel shit for talking to the Banshee bitch so for me to go ahead and join an alliance that wants to recruit her...I'm not about to break my own code like that. Just give it up already. No new contestants really want us gone gone. That's just what Barnard does, he plays Devil's advocate."
"Hm…" Aleister grumbled. "I think that's overconfidence on the part of you two but, I guess we'll just see, won't we?"
Confessional: Twilight
"I have outperformed my debut season, so right now, the only thing left to worry about is how to get my four, that's me, Aleister, Barnard, and Samuel...to the Final 4. I can't go after returns while Aleister is still convinced that we're being hunted by the new contestants, despite literally none of us having been eliminated since Kaleaf. That makes my biggest threats to worry about...Daniel and Lena. Daniel's definitely got the strategic gameplay down pat, and Lena's a bit of a challenge beast. The longer they go after each other though, the more worried I am one of my own will get caught in their crossfire. If at all possible, I'd like to end their rivalry tonight."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"They can claim it all they want, I know the others are just biding their time until they pick us all off one by one! They're going to do it soon too, before we can get enough support of our own during like the final 8 or something."
End Confessional
Confessional: Sherwood
"Truth is, I don't bloody care who it is I'm voting alongside, as long as I'm not the target, I'll take what I can get."
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"It's been a week… a whole week and they're still on about a returner alliance. I'm gonna be sick to my stomach if Aleister keeps this up."
End Confessional
Location: Mt. Immolate Cavern
Contestant(s): Barnard, Daniel, Lena, Sherwood
"I don't care." Lena sighed as Barnard followed her through the cavern.
"But, Lena-!" He argued. "You've nearly been voted out once, and our collective effort to get Daniel out failed, I think it might be time for a change of-"
"Do not tell me how to play my game, got it?" She snapped back at him as he held up his hands defensively.
Confessional: Lena
"Look, I get that this strategy isn't working, but my blood keeps boiling over when I think of the possibility of some shitstain like Daniel making it to a jury vote for a million. There is no way, not a single fucking way, he doesn't have some kind of bullshit speech stirred up to confuse everyone or to discredit whoever is there with him. Everyone right now is too preoccupied with who is the most popular or who is a physical threat...why does no one realize it's these smart little shits that need to be snuffed out first?"
End Confessional
"I suggest you use that logical head of yours to…" She stopped. "Hide." She commanded.
She and Barnard both hid behind a stalagmite as Sherwood and Daniel walked through, carrying two bags of fish.
Daniel stopped.
He turned towards the rock formation.
"That won't work." He sighed. "I can see the wet footprints."
"Just get out of here then." Lena growled.
"I'll take this." Sherwood took Daniel's fish from him and headed through the cavern while Daniel remained behind with a nod.
"I did come to warn you, but perhaps you don't want my help." He sighed.
"I'll take some of your help." Barnard held his hand up.
"Barnard!" Lena snapped.
"What?" Barnard shrugged. "He's got nothing to lose right now if we all stick together and vote him this time instead of Freya, I say we hear him out."
"Finally." Daniel sighed. "Some sense, if only a small amount."
Confessional: Barnard
"Any and all help from the others in this game will carry my fledgling alliance with Jaime a long way. All we have to do is let Lena and Daniel have at each other until one falls, and then pretend like we were on the winner's side from the very start."
End Confessional
"I'll keep it short." Daniel clearly didn't want to spend any more time in the cavern than necessary. "Lucien needs to go."
"Tch." Lena clicked her tongue.
"You know what I'm talking about from the sound of it." Daniel continued. "He was the one who floated your name to everyone two weeks ago, and he's the reason last week's ceremony ended in a tiebreaker, which means even if he isn't on your side, he isn't entirely on mine either. He clearly didn't care who left."
"But what could that idiot possibly have to-"
Lena stopped as she seemed to arrive at the answer. She opened her mouth to respond but Barnard beat her to the punch.
"Sounds like he's doing his best to always vote with the majority. He floated Lena's name out when he did because she nearly won the challenge, and he voted with Freya alongside everyone else when he should have clearly known about her plan if he truly was a part of your alliance…"
"So, he wants division?" Lena scratched her head.
"It's still too early to say what he wants." Daniel shook his head in response. "But it's not too early to get rid of him either, and I think you know I wouldn't go to you if I weren't sure that he needs to be taken care of ASAP."
Confessional: Daniel
"What she likely doesn't realize is that the chaos in the game that Lucien provides benefits her more than it does me. I can work with the more predictable behaviors of the others, but this faux idiot's mucking about is making things exceedingly difficult."
End Confessional
"That idiot has been getting on my nerves lately…" Lena sighed. "But if you don't win immunity, I think I'm still going to gun for you."
"Figures." Daniel sighed, disappointed. "I had hoped someone who fancied herself my greatest opponent would think with her brain a little more but I should've known better than to get my hopes up."
"Grr!" Lena growled as Daniel walked off. "That little shit thinks he can just put this whole thing on hold? Oh, he's got another thing coming!"
"Is he really that bad?" Barnard wondered. "Everything he said made sense to me."
"It's the way he bad mouths honest work players that gets me." Lena explained. "He seems convinced that the only way to succeed in this game is to be some little asshole."
"Sounds more like he just doesn't believe being conventionally 'good' will win the season." Barnard shrugged. "Considering he's targeted Kaden, and Kyle previously, two of the more arguably 'heroic' players. That's the view I'm getting from him."
"Well, I believe that being a little shit won't be able to win the season." Lena crossed her arms. "And I intend to prove it to him."
"Good luck, I suppose." Barnard mumbled under his breath after Lena stormed off.
He looked around.
"Now...what should I do to give myself some time before I leave so I don't look like I'm coming back with either of them?"
Location: Boys' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Aleister, Freya, Twilight
"I'm still not sure about joining a-" Freya attempted to explain to Aleister as he led her into his side of the boys' cabin, where he was also keeping Twilight.
"Alright. It's time for the two of you to make up so we can finally form this returner alliance." Aleister sternly ordered. "At the very least, I want to be able to strategize with both of you in the same room."
"Well then, why doesn't she start by calling off her boytoy?" Freya crossed her arms. "If I hadn't taken the dive, and he'd pushed me off that rope maze last challenge, I could have seriously broken a bone!"
"Oh stop exaggerating, I fell and it was fine!" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Besides, he's only that angry at you because of how you constantly provoke him!"
"I provoke him?" Freya threw her hands up in disbelief. "Twilight, where have you been looking these past few weeks? All I want right now, all I want is to vote out Daniel and avenge my boyfriend, I want nothing to do with whatever circus you're running, but he keeps coming up and provoking me! Am I supposed to what, just take it all sitting down?"
"Fucking…" Twilight sighed. "You ignore him like a grown-up person, not retaliate like some bitch that peaks in high school!"
Confessional: Aleister
"I know, I know I'm just making things worse between them right now, but sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. I'm going to unify the returns and create my alliance, and to do that, they're going to bury whatever hatchet is there right now."
End Confessional
"Sorry that I can't just deny his existence like you apparently could!" Freya growled.
"That's not what I mean and you know it!" Twilight growled back.
"Ohmygosh enough!" Aleister slammed his hand on the table. "I didn't bring the two of you here just to see such a pointless, Bechdel test failure of a catfight! Freya, do you want to go home next, or would you rather it be a new contestant?"
"Wha-?" Freya's eyes widened. "Obviously a new contestant if those are the only options, but they-"
"And Twilight." Aleister turned without waiting for Freya to finish. "You feel the same about your own game don't you?"
"W-well…" Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "It's not like I want to join forces in a return alliance though, I'd honestly much rather Sherwood or this bitch take the boot before any new player."
"Look, unless something entirely new happens, my vote's not changing from Daniel assuming he doesn't win immunity." Freya gave her ultimatum. "You want me in a return alliance, give me a reason to leave Lena, Tori, and Luci by eliminating their target."
"You know what?" Twilight stood up. "That sounds like a not very bad plan. Don't mistake this though, Aleister. This is only me agreeing on a target that's passed by my thoughts recently. I'd be just as comfortable voting Lena, or Sherwood, or even her." She pointed at Freya, who rolled her eyes.
Confessional: Freya
"I'm trying alright? I'm not necessarily opposed to working with Twilight, but she's just not about to give me the time of day, so I'm not about to waste my energy playing nice with her just to have her tear me down as though I've somehow offended her personally! I don't think I ever even talked to her back on Zero Sum!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Twilight
"I am this close to swatting that bitch with my fist. She thinks she can terrorize Samuel in the early game, probably mess with his psyche irreparably, and now that her boy is gone she can act like some kind of poor innocent victim? Don't make me laugh. I don't care who wins immunity, as long as one of my four big threats doesn't, I'm voting for them, and she's not getting special treatment just because we're from the same season!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"I get that they clearly aren't about to get along but...holy shit...I totally called them on their blustering and *bam* one-round voting alliance! Now I just need to convince Sherwood to stick with us for another round…"
End Confessional
Location: Nui Kaua Docks
Contestant(s): Samuel, Tori
"Hmmm." Samuel looked out over the water, he could see a silhouette of his reflection, but the rain blurred it.
"Rahh!" He splashed his fist against the water as though he were attacking himself.
"Rahh! Rahh! Rahh! Rahh!"
Confessional: Samuel
"I let my anger get the better of me last challenge, and not only did I break the one rule Twilight gave to me, if Freya hadn't pulled us both off that maze into the river, I could have actually broken a bone, in a best case scenario. That's how much force I was attacking with. And then...Then she goes and tries to help a good guy? What the hell is wrong with me? I had rubber gloves, I could easily have caught up and won immunity, and that entire ceremony could have been completely different! He might still be here, and I might have been able to get rid of Freya's tiki and Daniel in one fell swoop! Ugh!"
End Confessional
"Rahh! Rahh! Rahh! Rahh!" He continued to punch the water.
"Oh my." Tori announced as she approached Samuel. "Are you alright there?"
"No!" Samuel responded. "I'm failing at what I'm supposed to be doing. The villains are all still here, the heroes are dropping like flies, and instead of winning immunity last challenge, I took out my anger on the closest villain I could!"
"Hmm, that does sound rough." Tori nodded. "But of course, that's the gamble you took when you signed up for this game. Sometimes things don't go the way you'd like them to. I know I'm not where I'd have preferred to be by this point."
"Really?" Samuel sighed as he calmed down a bit and looked up at her. "But you always seem so upbeat."
"I'm upbeat because I choose to be!" Tori smiled. "It's a much less scary poker face than an expressionless one, don't you think?"
"I-I guess." Samuel shrugged. "I'm not that big on poker. I like to be prepared for anything, so not knowing what's coming next is not ideal to me."
"Well, you've been pretty prepared for challenges so far!" Tori smiled. "Think about it, The Vampires only lost a single challenge before the merge, and it was the second one."
"I guess…" Samuel gave a small smile.
"Say Samuel?" Tori cocked her head to the side. "Are you and Twilight going steady yet?"
"W-what?" Samuel laughed nervously. "Y-you aren't coming onto me are you?"
"No, just the opposite! I want to see you and Twilight get together!" Tori responded excitedly. "You'd be the only romantic couple left in the game, you know!"
"Hm…" Samuel fantasized about the idea. "Maybe I should ask her…"
"That's the spirit!" Tori encouraged him.
"But first...I'm going to get rid of one of the villains!"
"Ohhh" Tori sighed, disappointed. "And here I thought your first date would be a little strategy planning session that I could spy on to make sure it wasn't any of my friends that you're targeting."
Confessional: Samuel
"Tori...I don't really get Tori. She seems too, at ease with everything in the competition right now. Actually wait a minute...I don't think anyone really hates Tori at all do they? Doesn't that make her a huge threat? Did I just talk to some sort of mastermind? No...No, I'm overthinking this. I just have my failures on my mind right now and it's clouding my thought process."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"Poor Samuel, he's trying too hard to impress Twilight, and he's looking for glory by picking fights with dangerous players. I admire his guts, and I sort of want to see him do well but...I don't think I'm going to put my chips on him just yet."
End Confessional
"W-well…" Samuel laughed off Tori's suggestion. "I think I'd do something a little more special than that for a date but you're right, when it's a good time, I'll let her know how I feel."
"You should!" Tori cheered Samuel on. "I bet it'd make her really happy to be confessed to!"
Confessional: Tori
"I maaaay have heard her talking in her sleep about it hehe."
End Confessional
Location: Girls' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Barnard, Jaime, Lucien
"Come on Luci…" Jaime patted her bunk twice and Lucien rolled out from under it. "Lena's not pacing around the cabin anymore, you should be good for a little while."
"T-thanks…" Lucien chuckled. "She seems pretty anti-stoked about last night."
"I thought the plan was pretty clear in you voting Daniel." Barnard shrugged. "I guess you really can't be trusted with information until the very moment before voting starts."
"Oooh, harsh…" Lucien smiled. "But I get where…" He trailed off.
"Hey. You guys hear that?"
"The rain?" Jaime snickered.
"Yeah, doesn't it sound like a whole bunch of soldiers storming some battlefield?"
"Uh...sounds a little light on its feet for heavily armed soldiers." Barnard tried to give an earnest response.
"But what if the soldiers were spec ops?" Lucien suggested.
Confessional: Jaime
"Alright, how the hell does Lucien know the term 'spec ops'?"
End Confessional
"Then wouldn't it be a little too loud?" Barnard continued entertaining the hypothetical.
"Maybe they're running through mud." Lucien shrugged.
"I'm going to go run through mud if I have to hear any more of this lunacy." Jaime couldn't take it anymore. "Lucien, you couldn't possibly think that Lena wasn't going to get pissed off after the second time in a row you fucked her over."
"Both accidents, I swear!" Lucien pleaded. "Strange coincidences with me as a common thread, I swear, I swear, I swear!"
Confessional: Lucien
"Seriously no one can think I'm smart enough to orchestrate some kind of grand conspiracy like this can I? I've been pretty upfront about what I'm all about." A sparkle shines through Lucien's eyes as he maintains a worried expression.
End Confessional
*BEEEEEP*
"Attention Final 12!" Chris announced over the loudspeakers. "Come meet me at the Mt. Immolate Cavern! It's Challenge Time!"
Confessional: Jaime
"The cavern? The cavern? Oh, I am not looking forward to whatever Sysaphusian task he's about to foist upon us that requires we start in the cavern."
End Confessional
Confessional: Barnard
"Strange...I was just in the cavern but I didn't notice any challenge being set up. It must have been a pretty easy one to prepare...I feel like that correlates to it being extremely dangerous."
End Confessional
Location: Mt. Immolate Cavern
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Everyone…" Chris smiled as Chef brought Azami back in from Weliweli. "Today's challenge…"
He turned back to reveal six pairs of belaying harnesses. "Involves a freeform rock climb out of the crater at the summit of the mountain!" He pointed up to where light came down into the cavern from its opening at the top of the volcano. "And don't worry about if you fall, we've installed a safety net that should catch you before you reach the ground or magma."
"This is a team challenge?" Barnard asked as the contestants looked over the harnesses skeptically. "It takes two to belay so…"
"Very perceptive Barnard." Chris nodded. "It is a team challenge. However, we aren't about to just let you guys pick and choose who you go up with!"
"Of course you're not." Twilight groaned.
"Your pairs will be random!" Chris chuckled. "First pair to reach the top wins immunity and an all expenses paid trip to Weliweli Island!"
Confessional: Azami
"Awww yeah! Another gymnastic challenge! As long as I'm paired up with someone who can pull their wait, this one is in the bag!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"Ugh...more strenuous activity...figures…"
End Confessional
Challenge: Freeform Up Mt. Immolate Cavern
Rules: The contestants will be paired into six teams of two that will belay up the cavern walls together, there is (supposedly) a net in place if they fall to avoid any serious lawsuit-inducing injury. The first pair to successfully climb out of the crater and onto the summit of the volcano will win immunity. If the belaying ropes somehow snap, that pair of contestants will be removed from the challenge.
Curse: Malfunction. One of the pairs of harnesses has been tampered with prior to the challenge. Neither the producers nor the contestants know which one, but the ropes are set to snap within half an hour, which is not enough time for amateurs to climb up the mountain.
The Pairs:
Aleister and Jaime
Barnard and Azami
Daniel and Lena
Lucien and Freya
Samuel and Tori
Sherwood and Twilight
Time until malfunction: 30 mins
"Pairs ready…" Chris announced as everyone got into their harnesses. "Climb!"
All six pairs made their way to the rocky cavern walls and began to search for ways to climb up.
"This way, Barnard!" Azami put a hand on his shoulder and pointed with her finger along a path she'd already scoped out. "If we follow that trail...we should reach the stalactites before anyone else, you might say it would be stalac...toit."
Barnard hid a laugh. "Well," He responded. "That sounds like a great plan, let's go!"
Confessional: Azami
"With no Kaden to make things all about good guys and bad guys, and no one on my team yelling at each other, I can finally, finally start playing the game I wanted to play from the start! Sorry it took me so long to get to this starting line, other players...but I think you're about to see that you might have needed the handicap!"
End Confessional
"Azami and Barnard off to an early lead!" Chris announced as the pair began to make their way up the cavern wall. "Sherwood and Twilight are doing well on the other side of the cavern, away from everyone else. Aleister and Jaime aren't slouching either, but they're neck and neck with Samuel and Tori!"
"Just keep up with the pitons, Samuel!" Tori encouraged her partner as he continued to hand her piton after piton as they built their way along the cavern wall, while Aleister and Jaime struggled to stay moving at their pace.
"Do you always have to have some kind of cheat ready?" Jaime asked, frustrated.
"Don't hate the player, hate the challenge." Samuel replied as he handed Tori another small piton from his pockets.
Confessional: Tori
"Haha, oh so lucky that I get Samuel as a partner! With these little things we're bound to win our way to Weliweli, and I can look for whatever this powerful shield is supposed to be!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Samuel
"This is it, once Tori and I win immunity, I should have the high I need to finally make my move on Twilight!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"Samuel is...extremely prepared, it's actually a little startling. It's a good thing he's so loyal to Twilight or I'd be incredibly threatened by his continued presence in this game."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"I do not like the idea of the crazy-prepared weirdo and the supernaturally lucky gambler being partnered up for a challenge. That Azami-Barnard duo is scary enough but these two...how are any of us supposed to stand a chance?"
End Confessional
"Lucien and Freya seem to be lagging a bit behind…" Chris announced as he turned to notice Freya clinging for dear life onto Lucien as she struggled to carry them both up the cavern.
"Don't get mad…" Lucien grunted. "But you're...kind of heavy to carry like that…"
"I don't want to fall…" Freya kept repeating, ignoring everything else. "I don't want to fall, I don't want to fall, I don't want to fall…"
"Just...cliiimb…" Lucien pleaded through great effort as he slowly made both their ways up the rocky wall.
Confessional: Freya
"Look, I'll give it my all for most challenges but I hate having my feet off the ground, especially when my shoes are freaking sandals! That said...The act is a whole-ass lie. I'm going to force the truth out of this man one way or another!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
"Ugh...this challenge was a tough one, like, really tough. Normally no one trusts me to carry the team so it was...an experience."
End Confessional
"Meanwhile…" Chris finally brought his attention to Lena and Daniel.
"Lena and Daniel are struggling to even get off the ground!"
"Hng…Gaaah!" Lena shouted as the pair failed for the fifth time to get a good footing on the cavern wall.
"We can always just follow the piton pair." Daniel suggested to Lena's adamant refusal.
"No, we aren't going to be lazy about this!"
Confessional: Daniel
"It's less being lazy and more being smart, but I'm not concerned. If she wants to waste immunity, she can be eliminated before I get rid of Lucien."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lena
"Like, we might have managed to get a foothold if this little shitstain had actively tried to get a grip on the cavern wall but no, he'd rather just slink behind Samuel and Tori with their goddamn pitons!"
End Confessional
Time until malfunction: 15 mins
Twilight and Sherwood, meanwhile, were in complete synch with each other as they silently made their way up the other side of the cavern, away from any opponents to bicker with.
However, because they had moved to the other side, they had given up a fair amount of distance to the other pairs that were actually making progress.
Confessional: Twilight
"Man, Sherwood is one of the better partners to have for this type of challenge, and I gotta admit, that immunity would be nice."
End Confessional
Confessional: Sherwood
"Twilight is more athletic than I would have thought looking at her. Right now, that's a good thing, but going forward...going forward that might make her my biggest threat."
End Confessional
Azami and Barnard had managed to reach the cavern ceiling and were now steadily making their way from stalactite to stalactite.
"G-gahh!" Barnard's hand slipped as he began to fall only to find himself caught effortlessly by his wrist, looking up to see Azami staring back down at him.
"If we're going too fast, we can slow a bit, no one's going to catch up to us."
"We don't know that!" Barnard attempted to argue before realizing he was not in any position to debate at the moment and quietly letting Azami bring him back up to her level.
"You have to keep your weight balanced." She warned. "If you want to let go of a rock, you have to shift any weight you had in that hand or foot to somewhere else on your body to keep yourself anchored."
Confessional: Azami
"This is like the biggest rule of free-form climbing."
End Confessional
Confessional: Barnard
"Hm. It looks like Kaden being gone might actually be better for Azami than bad for the rest of us, I don't know what she went through on Weliweli, but as long as she keeps this up, I might be able to see for myself when we win immunity!"
End Confessional
Time until malfunction: 10 mins
"Don't let me fall, don't! Don't!" Freya kept clinging to Lucien as he took after the suggestion Daniel was still trying to make to Lena on the ground and followed the piton trail left by Tori and Samuel.
"You're gonna…" Lucien panted as they began nearing the ceiling of the cavern, where Aleister, Jaime, Samuel, and Tori were all doing their best to cross stalactites. "You're gonna need to help you know…"
"Just…" Lucien thought to himself and looked around to make sure no one was paying any attention.
"First, kick your sandals off, they're a liability for you right now. If there's a net, it'll catch them so you won't have to worry about losing your footwear. Then, you need to use that inhuman grip strength of yours to grip onto these pins so we can catch up to everyone else. You don't want to be voted out do you?"
Freya shook her head.
"Then you're going to have to suck this up."
With a sigh, Freya kicked off her sandals.
"If I fall after trusting you with this, it's your head you know." She warned.
Confessional: Lucien
"I'm in enough hot water with Lena already, I'm not worried about anyone else wanting me gone, especially not Freya, who just used up her get out of elimination freebie."
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya
"Ha! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! He's not actually dumb at all! Ha! That helpless act worked wonders! But that just begs the question...the heck is his reason for doing all this?"
End Confessional
Time until malfunction: 5 mins
"Lucien and Freya are finally starting to seem like a team!" Chris announced as he saw the pair starting to pick up pace, working together. "They're catching up to Samuel and Tori and Aleister and Jaime! Meanwhile, Azami and Barnard are still in the clear lead, but Barnard keeps slipping, and that's giving everyone a good chance to catch up!"
He looked back towards the bottom of the cavern where a cursing Lena was finally making her way up the piton path with an apathetic Daniel.
"Well, almost everyone." Chris corrected himself.
"Gah!" Aleister slipped and Jaime reached out to grab him, but he was too heavy for her and she instead let him dangle from the rope as she grabbed for her dear life to the nearest stalactite.
"Jaime!" Aleister called. "Help! Help!"
"You're too heavy!" Jaime called back. "If I try to help, we'll both fall!"
"Jaime don't let the rope snap!" Aleister worried.
"R-right." Jaime caught her breath and nodded. "Get ready to swing yourself up here, I'll catch you!"
"O-okay!"
"1….2….3...Swing!"
Aleister used the momentum he was building up to bring himself up to Jaime, who, to her credit, managed to catch him, though they'd spent so long regaining their balance that Lucien and Freya had since overtaken them and joined Samuel and Tori in competing against Azami and a slippery Barnard for first place.
Time until malfunction: 1 min
"We can make it!" Lucien's eyes grew wide with hope.
"Not before we do!" Azami replied as she practically carried Barnard across the cavern ceiling towards the crater.
"Come on Samuel!" Tori encouraged her partner. "Let's pull up into the lead and leave them both stunned!"
"Right!" Samuel nodded.
Time until malfunction: 30 secs.
"You aren't getting past me this time, vampire dog!" Freya smack talked.
"Neither of you pairs are getting past us though!" Azami joined in.
Time until malfunction: 10 secs.
The three pairs continued vying for the first place.
Time until malfunction: 5 secs.
With each second a new pair was in the lead.
Time until malfunction: 4 secs.
Azami and Barnard.
Time until malfunction: 3 secs.
Samuel and Tori.
Time until malfunction: 2 secs.
Lucien and Freya.
Time until malfunction: 1 sec.
Azami and Barnard again.
Time until malfunction: 0 secs.
As he reached forward, Samuel could feel the belaying rope connecting him to Tori snap in half.
"And with that snap…" Chris announced. "Samuel and Tori have become the unlucky recipients of this week's curse: The Malfunction! It looks like they won't be winning immunity any time soon!"
"That leaves us to take it from them!" Each of the four contestants vied for their pair to become first mentioned as both pairs reached the crater itself and shifted back into climbing up the walls.
"It looks like the pairs are neck and neck!" Chris announced.
"But...the winner...is…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Two hands reached up and felt the soot of the summit, only for Lucien and Barnard to pull themselves and their partners up at roughly the same time.
"Is...is that a tie?" Twilight squinted from where she and Sherwood were climbing.
Chris looked over to where Chef was conferring with an intern.
Chef looked back at him and gave an impressed nod.
"We have a tie!" Chris announced. "Azami, Barnard, Freya, Lucien all win immunity, and will be sent to Weliweli Island!"
"Hey…" Tori nudged Lena as they reunited on the ground. "Freya's heading to Weliweli, maybe we should tell her about that clue…"
"Shh." Lena shushed Tori as she nodded her head to where Daniel was climbing down. "No, we aren't letting either of those two know about this!"
Confessional: Tori
"But we can't make use of it if we never get there to find it…" Tori shakes her head in disappointment. "How is that any fun?"
End Confessional
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Azami, Barnard, Freya, Lucien
"Oh my goodness!" Lucien's eyes grew as he saw what Azami had done to the shelter. "Azami, was that you? That's amazing!"
"Heheh, of course, of course, I am pretty amazing…" Azami happily took the praise. "I hope you guys enjoy your stay on this island that I've made my own."
Confessional: Azami
"Because whether you'll get to come here again, well, I think that's very up for debate."
End Confessional
"Oh man…" Barnard looked around. "This is my first time being here since the start of the show…"
"Oh hey that's right!" Lucien pointed with a chuckle. "Man I really wish I could've been on your guys's team haha! That curse got me good…"
"Hey yeah, you did make the teams!" Azami realized.
"Well, while you guys do whatever, I'm going to fish up some dinner." Freya decided.
"Wait, I know the best spot!" Azami followed after her.
"I guess for now it's just...what are you doing?" Barnard turned to see Lucien crawling around in the sand.
"Just, I'm so happy to be back on this island. I lived here for the first week of the game, remember?"
Confessional: Lucien
"And because of that, I'm fairly sure I can tell what's changed and what hasn't. Quite a lot more sand!"
End Confessional
Location: Merge Camp Porches
Contestant(s): Aleister, Daniel, Jaime, Lena, Samuel, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
"This is it." Lena paced around Tori. "He's not immune, we have the numbers. We're about to finally flush him out!"
"Good, it was starting to get stale." Tori muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile, Daniel was having a similar conversation with Sherwood.
"It's only a matter of time before she takes a challenge win, we should act now."
Confessional: Daniel
"Because somehow Lucien won immunity when he needed it the most, figures."
End Confessional
"I can probably convince Aleister and Twilight to vote with us, and I bet Samuel would vote with them too." Sherwood replied. "The only way they counter that is to somehow get Barnard, Jaime, and Azami to vote with them."
"No way are they that unified to be able to plan that." Daniel shook his head. "This is it."
The sky began to darken as night came.
"Their darkest hour."
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Daniel, Freya, Jaime, Lena, Lucien, Samuel, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
Jury Present: Kyle, Antonio, Kaden
"Wowww." Chris smirked as the four immune players arrived from Weliweli. "We had to go frame by frame for that challenge and it was still a tie, you guys are competitive! Barnard, how does it feel? Being safe?"
"Chris, I feel like I could take on the world!" Barnard laughed.
"Did you talk about much on Weliweli before this vote?"
"Not much." Barnard admitted. "But I think we all have a pretty good idea about what's going on right now. I have a feeling a long conflict might finally be over tonight, one way or the other."
"Now Lena." Chris turned to Lena. "Barnard just said 'long conflict' and right now, the biggest one I can think of is the one between you and Daniel."
"I wouldn't mind finally kicking the little shit out, I can tell you that much." Lena nodded back at Chris.
"She won't. She can't." Daniel yawned. "Not while she's clearly the more logical vote-out for most of the competition."
"Well, it looks like there isn't much more to say about this. Time to vote." Chris smiled.
Confessional: Aleister
"Sorry Lena, but if Sherwood, a member of my return alliance, wants you gone...well, we can always get rid of Daniel next round for Freya."
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya
"It's no surprise that I'm voting for you, Daniel, I just hope that everyone back at camp will do the same."
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"Ugh. Quite frankly, you've grown more annoying than you're worth. Goodbye."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lena
"Alright you little shit, time to finally, finally get in that coffin!"
End Confessional
"Alright…" Chris came back after the votes had all been read. "I've tallied the votes. If anyone has The Curse Tiki and would like to play it…" He announced to gasps from most of the cast as the jury began to whisper to each other. "Now would be the time to do so."
Azami looked around.
Barnard straightened up in his seat.
Freya narrowed her eyes.
"Say uh Chris…" Lucien picked up a small, skull-shaped tiki from his bag. "I tripped over this on Weliweli. It wouldn't happen to be the curse tiki would it? Came with a note and everything but I just want to make sure. I'm not that smart you see."
"This...is the Curse Tiki." Chris smiled. "But are you sure you want to play it right now?"
Lucien nodded. "I'm not ready to say goodbye to my favorite Mummies just yet."
"Alrighty then." Chris snapped his fingers and Chef came up to the jar of votes and took out eleven of the votes. "Because Lucien, who was originally a Mummy, has played the Curse Tiki...all votes against any players originally on The Macabre Mummies will not count. Furthermore…" Chris tossed the tiki to Chef.
"The Curse Tiki has not lost this power. It will be hidden one more time."
"Now then…" Chris took out a plate of crystal balls.
"If I call your name, come up and get a crystal ball. If your name is not called, you must board the Coffin of Shame and immediately ride the Horror Hearse off of the island, where you will become the fourth member of our Jury."
He gave out crystal balls to Azami, Barnard, Freya, Lucien, Lena, Daniel, and Tori for all being immune.
"Aleister." He called.
He paused.
"Jaime." He called.
He paused again.
Samuel, Sherwood, and Twilight all looked at each other nervously.
"Sherwood." He called.
Sherwood sighed, relieved as he went up to get the crystal ball.
Samuel took Twilight's hand as he realized they were the last two left.
She held it tightly.
"The final crystal ball of the night…" Chris began.
"Goes to…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
… Twilight."
He tossed Twilight the crystal ball, leaving Samuel alone without one.
"Sorry Samuel, to be kicked thanks to only one vote...that's gotta suck."
"You mean everyone except one person voted for one of the Mummies?" Lena asked.
"And I think I know which person." Daniel mumbled as he looked over at Lucien, who gave a relieved sigh.
"Phew." He looked over at Lena. "We did it!" He cheered.
"No. We fucking didn't." Lena growled before she blew into a full on yell. "We were all voting off Daniel you actual blonde turd[BLEEEP]!"
"Wait, wait wait…" Lucien put a hand to his head. "Daniel? I thought our whole goal was to get rid of Samuel!"
Jaime couldn't help but laugh at the act, and a few of the other non-Mummies joined in.
"Gonna miss you, Miracle Man." Twilight hugged Samuel before he got in the coffin.
"Do I get a goodbye kiss?" He asked.
"You never asked me out so no." She smiled. "I'll give you my number instead."
"And now we're down to eleven!" Chris turned to the camera. "Where will the Curse Tiki be hidden? Can Azami keep winning immunity? Can Lucien continue his charade of stupid? And will Lena or Daniel ever manage to get rid of the other one? Find out next time…
On Total Drama Nui Kaua…
The Cursed…
Island!"
*Samuel's Final Confessional:
"Well, I failed, I failed horribly, but...it wasn't the way I thought I'd fail, so there's that I guess. It really sucks though you know? I'm leaving Twilight to cast chock full of villains, and there's no way she's gonna be safe over there. I got her number at least, and oh yeah! She called me Miracle Man just now didn't she? She did, she did! Hahaha! Well, at least that's one success I can be proud of. Still, that Lucien...I like to be prepared for anything, but even I couldn't possibly have been prepared for that. Twilight, you need to get him on your side if I'm going to be voting for you and the end of all of this!"
End Confessional*
The Votes for those who are curious…
Aleister voted for...Lena (doesn't count)
Azami voted for...Daniel (doesn't count)
Barnard voted for...Daniel (doesn't count)
Daniel voted for...Lena (doesn't count)
Freya voted for...Daniel (doesn't count)
Jaime voted for...Lena (doesn't count)
Lena voted for...Daniel (doesn't count)
Lucien voted for...Samuel
Samuel voted for...Lena (doesn't count)
Sherwood voted for...Lena (doesn't count)
Tori voted for...Daniel (doesn't count)
Twilight voted for...Lena (doesn't count)
AN:
So Samuel.
He, like Kyle, was another won who could definitely have gone far, but this was always, always how he would go out, at the hands of Lucien doing something that seems dumb on the surface to keep the game he wants to play going.
Samuel, as a concept is great. He's a bit of an oddball and prepared for just about every challenge Chris throws at him, but he also had an extremely strong sense of justice and would even go so far as to risk his place in challenges to exact it, as you saw last episode.
I like to think that he's very much like Kaleaf in that respect. Believe me, if he didn't have Twilight to keep him in line and Antonio to keep him a little more guarded, he'd definitely have been angry enough to become an early boot, but unlike so many early eliminations, Samuel was on the right team at the right time to take him further in the game.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Samuel receives the status of: Hero
This one's probably just as debatable as Kaden between Hero and Neutral, so I'm using pretty much the same argument here in that he came, he opposed the villains, he helped his team to the best of his ability, and when he did realize that his anger was starting to affect his gameplay, he genuinely got upset about it. He isn't your standard hero by any means, but I personally don't feel comfortable giving him a Neutral title.
Samuel's best moment, I think, was the first time he and Antonio went to the Bloody Banshees' cabin. It was his first major move of the game socially and It really showed that he cared about opposing those he viewed as villainous to the point he'd even ignore the warnings of his closest ally if it meant he might be able to get a leg up on them.
Of course, this is all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
Any ideas on what the next curse might be?
And as always, thank you for reading!
AN2:
I have a discord, the link is on my profile page for anyone who would like to join, we have a lot of fun talking about total drama and making memes and stuff, so feel free to come check us out!